As an increasing number of
married
women are becoming
household
breadwinners, high-earning mothers are reporting lower levels of
happiness
.
A new Pew Research
study
shows higher levels of income parity between husbands and wives and a higher number of women as primary household breadwinners.
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The data show 29% of marriages reaching income parity, while 55% of husbands and 16% of wives are the primary or sole income-earner.
However, women who earn more than their husbands are
more likely to be dissatisfied
in their family life, particularly if they are mothers.
According to Dr. Wendy Wang, director of research at the Institute for Family Studies, much of the issue comes down to the division of labor between spouses at home.
“It turns out that women who are breadwinners in the family also do more housework and childcare,” she told the Washington Examiner.
This can lead to a certain amount of resentment, giving bread-winning mothers “less satisfaction with their family life,” Wang said.
According to Wang, past research has shown some men being obstinate about housework, thinking of it as “women’s jobs” even when they are not providing as much income to the household.
“That leads to unhappy marriages,” she said. “Women who are in that situation are less happy about the marriage, and I think it’s a warning sign: If the mothers are not happy and, you know, there are some frictions in the relationship, that could eventually lead to divorce or other things in life that are not desirable.”
“That’s actually the worst-case scenario,” Wang said. “They’re not contributing to the family financially; they’re not contributing in housework, either.”
Pew’s numbers suggest something similar, finding even when incomes are relatively egalitarian, husbands spend more time on leisure activities, and wives spend more time on caregiving and housework.
Wang said while women are increasing their share of the household income and in some cases becoming breadwinners, there remains an ingrained sense of “strict” traditional gender norms in the home.
“It’s very clear demand of division of labor that women just focus on this, men focus on the other thing, and there is no cross there and then men, the fathers don’t spend time with their kids, which is not the good thing,” Wang said, explaining that “the traditional role is changing.”
The shift toward earnings egalitarianism presents an opportunity to change household dynamics and allow fathers to be more present in the raising of their children, Wang suggested.
However, American culture and society do not place a premium on men’s contributions in the home.
According to Pew, only 7% of the public says society values men’s contributions at home more than work, and 35% believe the contributions are valued equally. By contrast, 49% believe women’s contributions at home and at work are valued equally in society.
Society should do a better job of valuing men’s contributions at home “, especially in the front of child care because we have seen a lot of research … advocating for more father involvement in children’s lives,” Wang said.
Paternal involvement is particularly good for boys, Wang said — for their health and in modeling socialization. “That’s something mothers can’t replace,” she said.
The public appears to agree, with 77% stating both mothers and fathers should consider their job and their children and home equally.
Wang said complete egalitarianism is probably not likely and may not even be desirable.
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“There’s different arrangements in families, and I think today we still have a lot of stay-at-home moms and they’re happy too,” she explained. “You’re married; you’re a team. Everyone works for the same goal, and people should step up when the work is needed.”
“If their spouses are stepping up and doing the work that’s needed at home to balance the workload, I feel like maybe a lot of these breadwinner wives or mothers are going to be happier,” Wang said.
